The Roadtrip
by myramcqueen
Summary: Sequel to 'These Children That You Spit On.' It's the summer after graduation for the five friends, and some unexpected news for Allison sends them all on an adventure before college starts. AllisonAndy ClaireBender Brian
1. Chapter 1

**Hello :) This is a sequel to my other story 'These Children That You Spit On', so you should probably read that first, as this one does follow on quite strongly. Anyway, I got so many nice reviews on that story, and a few of you asked about a sequel, so here we go. This is set a little while after the last story ends. Just to let you know, I'm not American, and I never really grasped the whole concept of how sophomores, juniors, seniors etc can all be in the same classes, so for this story I'm assuming all the characters are seniors, because it makes my life easier! Hope you enjoy it.  
>I don't own The Breakfast Club!<br>**

Allison lay face down on her bedroom floor and crawled as far under her bed as she possibly could, searching through to piles of clutter and junk for that damn piece of paper.

It had to be there somewhere. Then again, maybe she wasn't important enough for her parents to have kept something like a _birth certificate. _It was starting to look like she'd actually have to converse with her father and ask him if he knew where it was, and that was the last thing she wanted.

Groaning, Allison rested her head on her arms and closed her eyes, choosing to remain under her bed amongst the piles of old sketch books and a few dusty year books that she had never wanted in the first place. It was as good a place as any to reflect on how much her life was changing, and how quickly it seemed to be doing so.

Just over a week ago, by some small miracle, she and her three friends had graduated from high school (Bender was the exception, but there was no surprise there). For a while, there had been a big question mark over whether any of them would graduate at all, after what had happened at Andy's final wrestling meet. To quote Bender, 'the shit really hit the fan' that day. Not that Allison had been particularly surprised- after all, that sort of thing tended to happen if you went around sticking switch blades in people. In fact, she was lucky she wasn't in police custody, never mind graduating. But as it was, things had played out a little differently.

Half of the staff body of Shermer High had come barging into the changing rooms after hearing the commotion coming from within. Vernon, naturally, headed the group, demanding to know who the hell had given Andrew Clark such a beating, and who the hell had stuck a knife into Jake Turner's shoulder. The over-dramatic soccer player was quick to point the finger at her, but Vernon was convinced Bender was the culprit (it was his knife, after all). Suddenly, Andy was pretty sure it had been him, but it was hard to say really, because- as Claire explained- everything had happened so quickly, and they'd all been pushing and shoving, scrambling around. Even Brian conjured up his best poker face and said he couldn't possibly be sure who had stabbed Jake. It became pretty obvious to Allison right then that her friends weren't going to let her take the wrap for this alone.

Luckily (or unluckily, depending on how you looked at it), the wound on Jake's shoulder was not very deep at all, nothing a couple of stitches hadn't sorted out.

His pride took a bigger hit, when word got around that the school's toughest jock had fainted at the sight of his own blood.

Vernon quickly became frustrated by the fact he couldn't get to the bottom of what had happened.

Allison snickered to herself. What did he expect, after declaring that 'whoever beat up Clark, and whoever thought they were Norman Bates would definitely not be graduating, and would probably be looking at expulsion'? Did he think that the two culprits were going to step forward and give themselves up, just like that? Jake Turner was suddenly very quiet too, and it was obvious that no one had any intentions of giving Vernon the whole story.

Next, he had called all of their parents in to 'discuss matter.' Of course, neither Allison's nor John's parents had bothered to show up. Claire's father came and stood stiffly in the corner, looking embarrassed by the whole thing. Brian's mom was only concerned with whether the incident would affect her son's grade point average, whilst Andy's parents had similar concerns for his chances at a scholarship. Jake Turner's father was quick to point the finger, threatening to press charges against Andrew, who he was certain was the knife wielder. Suddenly, Andy's father was very good friends with Allison's (news to her), who just so happened to be a lawyer, ready and waiting in the wings to throw a lawsuit back at the Turners for Andy's injuries. Red in the face, Vernon gave up, settling for a week's suspension for the six of them, and calming Brian's mother with the reassurance that they would all graduate, if they kept their heads down for the rest of the year.

Since he knew he wasn't going to graduate anyway, Bender took the opportunity of the 'resolution' to ask for his knife back. He added another Saturday to his list of detentions.

It all seemed like so long ago, now, and in just under two months, Allison would be going to art school in NYC. At least, if she could find her birth certificate for the admissions team, she would be.

Scrambling out from under her bed, she tackled the wardrobe, with a renewed sense of determination. Her whole damn future depended on that stupid birth certificate. Getting out of this house, not having to deal with her dad and her step-mom on a daily basis, finally getting to focus on the one thing she was good at…

Those were the pros, anyway. The con (singular) was that, right then, Andy's college career was up in the air, and neither of them had any idea whether he'd be in NYC with her, on the other side of the country in Oregon, or somewhere in between.

Giving up on the wardrobe, Allison went out onto the landing, checking over the banister. The house was silent- her father was still at work.

Huffing, she opened the door of her parents' bedroom and made her way across to the closet. Peering inside, she quickly located the shoe boxes in which her father kept things 'safe.' Perhaps, she thought with skepticism, her birth certificate was in one of those.

Stacking the boxes on top of each other, she carried them back to her own room. Opening the first one, she tipped it upside down and allowed its contents to spill out onto her bedroom floor.

Reams and reams of paper. Receipts and guarantees, stupid cards and old photos. She'd never had her father pinned as the sentimental type. Sighing, she began to sort through them, keeping an eye out for any official looking documents.

And then something caught her eye. Neat handwriting on good quality letter paper. _Her _name at the top. Unfolding it to full size, Allison let her eyes skim across the page. And then her mouth fell open in shock.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Andy had jogged the several blocks to Allison's house that day.

It was a little far, even for him, but he was still on a 'privileges ban' since turning down a full scholarship at UIC, and privileges meant everything from the use of his brother's car and the games console in his room, right through to the 'privilege' of his father speaking to him. Some might say that was a bonus, he had concluded.

Not that any of that mattered today.

No, today was a good day. He couldn't wait to get to Allison's house.

Finally reaching the front porch, Andy knocked on the door and let himself in, just as he always did when her parents were out at work.

"Ally! It's me!" he called, checking the lounge and the kitchen, but finding no sign of his girlfriend, he went upstairs, taking the steps two at a time. "Ally! Where are you? I've got something to tell you."

There was still no reply, so Andy put his head around Allison's bedroom door.

Sure enough, she was sat on the floor, leaning back against the bed.

"Hey. There you are. I was calling you," he said, opening the door properly.

Allison glanced up at him, but she didn't respond, and it was then Andy noticed that she was surrounded by several stacks of paper.

"What's wrong?" he frowned, sitting down beside her, suddenly feeling very concerned.

Over the last few months, they had gotten so close that he could almost read her like a book. He could look at her face and know exactly what it was she was feeling. The crooked smile she gave him when she was nervous, the way she chewed her bottom lip when something was worrying her. The distant look in her eyes would tell him when she was having a particularly rough time at home, and he knew he was in trouble when her bottom jaw set. But today… Andy had never seen Allison like this before, and he didn't like it.

Reaching across, he took hold of her hand.

"Ally? What's the matter?"

When Allison still failed to reply, Andy gave her hand a gentle shake, as if trying to get her to notice him.

"Come on, Allison. Don't go back inside your shell. Not now. Talk to me," he urged.

Finally, she looked up at him again, but then her gaze fell back down in the direction of the papers in front of them.

"What's all this?" he asked, guessing it was something to do with her current state.

"They're from my mom," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

Andy frowned, confused. "Your mom? Your real mom?"

She nodded.

"I thought you said she never got in touch after she left?" he recalled. "So where did all this come from?"

"My dad's closet," she said simply.

"Your dad's closet?" he repeated.

"I was looking for my birth certificate. For college. The admissions thing," she said, as if trying to explain herself. "He's been hiding them from me, Andy. For years."

Picking up the nearest pile, Andy shuffled through the numerous birthday and Christmas cards, and the neatly folded letters addressed to Allison. It certainly looked as though her father had been doing a very good job of making it seem like her mother didn't care.

"Oh, jeez. Ally…" he began, unsure of what else to add.

"All this time she's been trying and trying, and it's like I've been ignoring her. All this _fucking _time…" Allison said, the anger suddenly making its way to the surface. "All this time I thought… I thought that she…"

"Didn't want you?" he guessed.

Suddenly, it wasn't anger he could see in her eyes anymore. It was something else. She looked lost. Like a lost child, he decided.

"C'm'ere," he sighed, pulling her closer. She hid her face in the crook of his neck, and he could feel her tears against his bare skin.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, stroking her hair. "I know this sucks. I can't even imagine… But it'll be okay now. You'll see."

"You think?" she murmured, sounding unconvinced, as lifted her head up to look at him again.

He nodded, drying her tears. "I promise. You can contact her now, huh? If that's what you want."

"Yeah, like she'll want anything to do with me after she thinks I've been ignoring her for the last 14 years," Allison muttered.

"That's not your fault. And you can tell her that, when we find her," he said.

"'We?'" she repeated, unsure.

"What, you think I'd let you deal with this on your own?" Andy asked, raising one eyebrow.

She shrugged, leaning her head back against his shoulder.

"Not in a million years," he assured her, kissing her forehead and pulling her a little closer.

It was quiet for a moment then, before Allison spoke again.

"What did you want to tell me?"

"Huh?" he asked, absentmindedly rubbing small circles on her back.

"You said you had something to tell me."

"Oh," Andrew smiled, suddenly remembering the reason he was there in the first place. "Yeah. I got accepted at LIU."

"What's that?" she asked, her mind obviously still elsewhere.

"Long Island University, Ally," he grinned. "Guess we're going to NYC."

For the first time since he'd arrived, Allison smiled. It was her biggest smile, Andy knew- the one she kept for times when something made her day a little better.

"Looks like you're stuck with me. Sorry," he teased.

"I'll find a way to cope," she said, kissing him and letting her worries melt away, if only for the time being.


	2. Chapter 2

"So let me get this straight," Bender began, pulling the lettuce off his burger and flinging it across the table onto Brian's plate.

"Thanks John," Brian said, unimpressed.

"You're welcome, it's the least I can do to make sure your food pyramid stays intact," he nodded, seriously. "So back to the drama, boys and girls. Let me make sure I've got this correct. Klepto's mom did a moonlight when she was four, and was never heard from again, but then it turned out that she was actually sending a tonne of stuff which was being hidden in the bottom of Klepto's dad's closet."

"I am here you know," Allison commented.

"That's pretty much the short and long of it yeah," Andy nodded, tucking into the first of his two cheese burgers.

A pause.

"So… is your dad like, a klepto too? Klepto Senior?" Bender asked sincerely.

Claire hit him on the arm. "Don't be so freaking insensitive you moron."

"Sorry," Bender nodded, looking ashamed, before turning back to Allison. "So is he?"

Claire gave up, rolling her eyes and going back to her salad.

If Allison was offended by Bender's remarks, she didn't show it. Instead, she just shrugged her shoulders.

"I think he's just an asshole."

"Well… you know, perhaps he just thought he was doing what was best, sorta…" Brian began, diplomatically. "I mean, you don't really know her and I guess your dad does. Or did… once. And maybe he thinks she wouldn't be good for you or… or something."

Silence for a moment.

"Yeah, I prefer my theory. He's an asshole," Allison said.

"No. Big Bri here is right. I suggest you proceed with caution. I mean, your mom could be…. a _stripper_!" Bender declared.

"Why d'you always gotta make a joke out of everything?" Andy demanded. "It's not funny, Bender. This is her life that douche has been playing around with."

"Andy its fine," Allison said quietly, sharing a look with Claire (they always shared a look when Andy and John began bickering like a pair of sophomore girls).

"Relax Sporto, jeez. Don't get your tights in a knot," Bender snorted.

"Well, you know technically, Andrew doesn't wear tights anymore, since he quit wrestling and all," Brian interjected.

"Eat your greens!" Bender bellowed, gaining the attention of most of the other people in the diner. Sitting back, he folded his arms and scowled at them all. "He's a growing boy."

Casting him a glare, Claire turned back to Allison. "So what are you going to do? Are you gonna write back to her? Did she write a return address on any of the envelopes?"

Allison nodded. "Sure. The last one was about a year ago though so I don't know whether it's the right address."

"Is she living in Chicago?" Brian asked.

She shook her head now. "The address was in Los Angeles."

Brian whistled through his teeth. "Wow."

"Well, you could at least try and write back. What's the worst that can happen?" Claire pointed out.

"That's what I said," Andy nodded in agreement.

"You're not so sure?" she asked Allison, who just shrugged again.

"I just… don't know what to do."

"I'll tell you," Bender piped up, suddenly. "Don't write to her."

The four of them stared at him, all clearly wondering where his advice was coming from.

Seeing that they weren't getting it, Bender sighed dramatically and elaborated. "I think a more… face to face approach is what's needed here, you know what I mean?"

Silence.

"Not really," Andy admitted, eventually.

Bender shook his head, feigning disappointment. "It's sad, really. You can all graduate from high school, but not one of you has a brain cell between you. What I'm trying to say, is that I don't know about you ladies, but I've always quite fancied a stroll down Hollywood Boulevard."

"You're suggesting we go to LA?" Andy realized.

Bender clapped his hands. "Ten points to the guy in blue."

"Bender, do you know how much flights to LA cost?" Brian asked.

"Who said anything about flying, nerd? I'm thinking… roadtrip," he told them.

"We don't have a car," Claire pointed out.

"What about your dad's BMW?" Bender snorted.

She gave him a look that told him 'no chance.'

"Well Andrew has a car," he reminded her.

"Had. Past tense. My dad took it away when I ruined his pro-wrestling dreams. And anyway, it was my brother's really. I don't think he'd be too stoked about us taking it across the other side of the country," Andy said.

Bender shook it off, impatiently. "Never freakin' mind about the car. Leave that to me. Just think about it, dorks. We go LA, we find Klepto's mom, take in a few sights, catch some rays…"

Claire chewed her lower lip thoughtfully. "It _would _be nice to take a vacation. My parents just took off for three weeks in the south of France, and I didn't even get an invite."

Suddenly, Bender ducked under the table, rummaging around and checking under his seat.

"What are you doing?" Claire frowned.

"Looking for my violin," he smirked.

Picking up a menu from the center of the table, she hit him across the head. "Pig."

"You love it. So Cherry's in. How about you Einstein?" he asked Brian.

"Bender, do you know how long it takes to _drive _from Chicago to LA? That's like… thirty hours. There's no way in hell my parents would let me go," he told them.

"So blow them off. You're a college boy now," Claire reminded him. "What about you Andy?"

"Sure, why not? I mean, it'd be good to get out of the house over summer. But it's not up to us," he pointed out, turning to Allison. "What do you think, Ally? If you don't like the idea, you can say. We don't have to do this. If you're not comfortable…"

All eyes were on Allison now as they awaited her reaction.

"Well…" she began, after a few moments consideration. "It's not like I have anything better to do."

"Alright! ROOOOOOOOADTRIPPPP!" Bender whooped, fist pumping the air and knocking half of the drinks off their table in the process.

It wasn't long before the waitress brought them a premature check.

**Only a short one I'm afraid, but things should get a little more interesting from now on. Hope it was okay :) **


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, some of these reviews are awesome :)  
>Here's the next chapter. Just to let you all know, I plan on this story being a fair bit longer than the last one, so that's why its a bit more of a slow burn than the other was. <strong>

"Are you sure you're not gonna tell your old man where we're going?" Andy asked, sitting on the edge of Allison's bed.

She shook her head, zipping up her bag and sitting down on the floor to put on her Chuck Taylors.

"Nuh-uh. It's not like he'll care anyway. Hell, he probably won't even notice I've gone," she muttered. "Besides, I don't think it'd go down too well, if I told him I was going to look for my mom."

"Well you don't have to tell him _that_. Why not just tell him we're going to LA for a vacation?" he suggested.

"What did you tell _your _parents?" Allison asked, ignoring the suggestion, despite the fact her boyfriend appeared to be awaiting a response.

"Just that we were getting outta town for a bit before college starts," he shrugged.

"Did your dad flip?" she asked.

Andrew shook his head. "He couldn't have cared less. My mom actually seems pretty happy about the whole NYC thing, not that she'd ever admit it in front of that asshole. She just sorta told me to have a good time and baked us some cookies for the trip."

"Your dad still isn't speaking to you?" Allison frowned, distracted by the beep of a horn on the street outside.

"Nope," he confirmed, getting up and going across to the window. "What the…"

Allison joined him at the window, and snorted.

There on the street below, was John Bender, in the most dilapidated-looking truck they had ever seen. Not only did the vehicle look like it had already covered several million miles, it also appeared to have had various paint jobs, given that no two parts of the truck were the same colour.

"GET YOUR ASSES DOWN HERE, TAXI SERVICE AIN'T GOT ALL DAY!" Bender called out of the window.

"Remind me again why I agreed to this?" Andy asked, mildly amused, as he picked up his bag and took Allison's from her. "C'mon."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Welcome to Bender Tours," their sarcastic driver announced when Andrew and Allison climbed into the back seat. "Please fasten your seatbelts, sit back and enjoy the ride."

"Bender. What the hell is this?" Andy asked.

"This, Sporto, is what the Australians call a 'Ute'," he replied, in his best Australian accent. "You like it?"

"It's a pile of shit," Allison said, bluntly.

"Well thanks Klepto. Where's your car?" Bender challenged.

"Where did you get it anyway?" Andy asked, as Allison flipped Bender off.

"Borrowed it," was all he said.

"Stolen," Allison muttered.

"What?! Bender, she better be wrong!" he cried.

"It's not 'stolen'," Bender rolled his eyes.

"It smells bad," Allison commented.

"Will you quit moaning already? Jeez, and I thought Cherry was high maintenance," he sighed, starting the engine.

"Speak of the devil," Andy gestured out of the back window to the car that had pulled in behind them, just as Claire jumped out, waving to get Bender's attention before he drove off.

"How much freaking luggage?" Allison commented, seeing the red head pulling her suitcase out of the trunk.

"A tad hypocritical of you Klepto. After all, let's not forget, we've seen the contents of your school bag. However in Cherry's case, that's just the materials necessary for her nightly cleansing ritual," Bender informed them, as Claire reached the passenger door. "Nice of you to join us Princess."

"Sorry I'm late. Can you help me with this?" she asked, gesturing to her suitcase.

Rolling his eyes, Bender got out and took the case to the trunk, but he had a small smirk on his face.

"Who's that?" Andy asked, looking back to the flash car Claire had arrived in, impressed.

"My brother, Jason. Are you guys excited?" Claire beamed, getting in and turning to look at her friends in the back.

"On the edge of my seat," came Allison's deadpan response. She didn't turn to look at the other girl, instead keeping her eyes trained on the small area of the side walk she could see from her window.

Claire glanced at Andy, who just shook his head, telling Claire to leave it alone.

Bender was back in the truck now, starting the engine for a second time. "So what was the hold up Cherry? Or was that just you being fashionably late?"

"No. I uh... kinda got some good news today, that's all," she smiled, biting her lower lip.

"Don't tell me, don't tell me! Chanel just brought out a new nail polish in hot pink and it's totally your colour!" Bender cried, feigning excitement.

Claire dug him, but the smile didn't disappear from her face. "Shut up, I'm serious."

"Do I joke about nail polish?" he asked, pretending to be offended.

"I finally got a letter from the _one _college I've been waiting on since forever," Claire told them, turning to look at Andrew, since Bender was teasing her and Allison was in a world of her own.

"Another? I thought you'd settled on Indiana?" he frowned.

"Well, I had. But only because I'd kinda given up on this one," she explained.

"So where is it?" Allison asked, surprising them her friends with her sudden involvement in a conversation that they were all fairly sure she hadn't been listening to.

Claire's smile grew wider. "I got accepted at University of Miami. I'm going to Florida!"

If Claire was expecting any of them to share her obvious joy, she was sorely mistaken, since her statement seemed to go down like a lead balloon.

Allison glanced at Bender immediately, but his only reaction was to put the truck into gear and pull away from the curb.

For a moment, there was an awkward silence.

"Jeez guys, you could at least pretend to be happy for me," Claire commented, making an obvious attempt to keep the mood light.

"No... no, we are! That's great, right Ally?" Andy mustered up his best smile, giving his girlfriend a nudge.

Allison turned her attention back to Claire, looking her dead in the eye and considering her answer before speaking. "Sure."

Claire broke the eye contact, still not entirely comfortable with Allison's blunt replies and direct ways of doing things.

"Well you've got a funny way of showing it," she muttered.

"We _are _pleased for you. If that's what you wanted then it's great. It's just... Florida's a long way away, that's all," Andy shrugged. "I guess it'll just be weird us not all being together any more you know? I mean, we'll be in New York, and what with Bri going to Harvard and Bender staying around here, we'll all be pretty close. But Florida... that's the other side of the country. None of us were expecting it, that's all."

"Well I wasn't either. That's why I didn't say anything. I really didn't think I'd get accepted," Claire told them. "And I know it's a long way. But... you guys can come visit. And there's always summer break."

Allison was watching Bender again, and he met her gaze in the interior mirror. "What are you looking at, crazy?"

"Hey! Don't take it out on her cause your girlfriends decided to ditch you for Florida!" Andy cried, his quick temper much the same as ever.

"Get real, Sporto. Why would I care where she goes to college?" the other boy commented.

"You care."

"John," Claire began, reaching across to take his hand.

He pushed her away, angrily. "How about you all shut up and let me concentrate on the road, unless you wanna die before you get to join a freakin' sorority?" he snapped.

Used to Bender's moods by now, Claire just rolled her eyes, turning the other way and looking out of the window instead.

"Great. We've not even left Shermer yet and we're already fighting," she muttered, more to herself than anybody else.

There was a pause then, before she spoke again, looking around as if suddenly noticing their mode of transport. "So what is this thing anyway?"

"Stolen," said Andrew and Allison in unison.

"It's not fucking stolen!" Bender cried, possibly a little more loudly than he had intended.

"Yeah right. It wouldn't surprise me," Claire huffed, folding her arms sulkily.

Bender just pulled a face, lighting up a cigarette with his free hand and throwing the empty carton out of the window. In the back seat, Allison reverted back to watching the rows of houses go by, though when she felt Andy take her hand in his, she didn't pull away.

It was going to be a long ride to Los Angeles.


	4. Chapter 4

It wasn't a long drive to Brian's house, but it was a tense one.

When they finally pulled up at the bottom of the driveway, Bender honked his horn with more force than was really necessary, but didn't bother switching the engine off.

They waited, but there was no movement from the house.

Unable to hide his irritation, Bender hit the horn again and holding it down for longer this time.

"Will you quit it?!" Claire exclaimed, covering her ears.

"Well if the noise is hurting your poor, delicate ears, how about you get out and go get the dork?" he suggested, his nostrils flaring in anger.

"Perhaps we got the wrong place," Andy muttered from the back seat.

"Have you seen those pruned hedges? This is the place," he commented, gesturing to the house in front of them, which featured an adjoining garage and a front garden that probably didn't have one blade of grass out of place.

"He's right. It is." Allison put in.

"How do you know?" Claire asked.

"Lets not forget she's seen the contents of Dweebie's wallet," Bender said, opening his door.

"Where are you going?" the redhead frowned.

"Well, it looks like _Ralph _needs a little door-to-door service," he declared.

"You can't go. His mom will freak out if you show up on the doorstep," Claire told him. The expression on her face showed them all that she instantly regretted the way that had come out.

"Oh, what? We need someone a little more respectable?" Bender snapped.

"That's not what I..." she began.

Ignoring her, he turned around and weighed up the couple in the back.

"Andrew, you were a respectable varsity letterman. Do the honours."

He nodded. "Fine, if it gets me outta this war zone for five minutes. Come on Ally."

Bender shook his head. "Leave Klepto here. Mrs Johnson will _freak out _if she shows up on the doorstep."

Andy gave the other boy a look, but he didn't rise to the bait. Instead, he turned back to look at Allison. "You can come, you know?"

She just shook her head, and he hesitated.

"Run along Sporto," Bender mocked, encouragingly.

Sighing, Andy shut the door of the truck and headed up the driveway.

After ringing the bell, he waited, but for a while nothing happened.

Looking back at the others, he shrugged his shoulders, but Bender gestured for him to try again. Rolling his eyes, he turned his attention back to the door which, just at that moment, swung open. Andrew came face-to-face with a woman in some kind of green face mask and a turban, looking less than happy to be disturbed.

"Yes?" she barked.

"Uh... hi. Yeah. We're just here for Brian," he began.

"What do you mean you're 'here for Brian'?" the woman demanded.

"I'm Andrew. Andrew Clark, ma'am. We're going to LA. Didn't he tell you?" he asked, wondering how this woman was managing to make all the six foot wrestlers he had faced at various points in his life seem like puppy dogs in comparison.

"Oh, he told me alright. And I told him, and now I'll tell you: he's not going!" she shouted.

With that, she slammed the door in his face.

"That went well," Bender commented, as Andy made his way back towards the truck.

"I guess he's not coming guys," the sport sighed.

"What, are we giving up that easily?" he demanded.

"Well if his mom won't let him come.." Claire began.

"He's eighteen. It's time he started acting like it and told his mommy where to go," Bender informed them.

"I dunno, I wouldn't wanna mess with her," Andy said, going back around and opening the back door. "I think we should just... where'd Ally go?"

"_What _is she doing now?" Claire asked.

Looking up from the empty seat he had been staring at in confusion, Andrew followed Claire's gaze. Sure enough, there was Allison hurrying up Brian's driveway.

"Ally what are you...?" he began.

"Oh my god," Claire muttered, watching as the other girl climbed onto the bonnet of the Johnsons' car and then hopped onto the roof, as if it was something she did everyday. Her intentions were quickly becoming obvious, as she scooted over toward the garage roof.

"Jesus, she's gonna break her neck. Ally get down!" Andy hissed.

Bender snorted, genuinely amused. "Allison Reynolds, the gift that just keeps on giving."

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Brian Johnson sat at his desk and tried to concentrate on what he was reading.

Usually, he couldn't tear himself away from anything to do with thermodynamics, but having just heard the way his mother had spoken to Andrew, he was a little distracted.

He hadn't told his friends he wouldn't be joining them on the road trip. Truth be told, he was kind of hoping his mother might change her mind and have a little mercy on him, considering he had met all of her expectations and got offers from Harvard, Yale _and _Princeton.

_Knock, knock.  
><em>  
>Brian snorted, shaking his head. He should have known better. His mother had always been the same, why should she change now? He had been under pressure throughout his whole school career- what was another three years of pressure at law school?<p>

_Knock, knock, knock._

"Go away!" Brian shouted at his bedroom door. His little sister had been bugging him all week and he had had enough.  
><em><br>THUD._

Brian froze, realising that the knocking was most certainly not coming from the bedroom door.

Slowly turning around in his seat, he looked over at the window cautiously.

And there, standing on his garage roof, peering through his window, was none other than Allison Reynolds.

Recovering from the initial shock, Brian got up and went over to open the window.

"Hi Brian," she said, in a very serious tone.

"Um, Allison? Do you mind telling me what you're doing on my garage roof?" he stuttered, in disbelief.

"Coming to collect you," Allison shrugged.

"Have you ever heard of a door?" Brian asked.

"Well Andy already tried the door. Seemed like the incredible hulk answered and told him to beat it," she said.

"Oh, that was my mom, wearing one of her face masks," he explained.

"No shit," was the reply, as she leant against his window ledge. "So are you coming or what?"

"You heard my mom. I'm not going anywhere," Brian sighed.

"So don't ask her permission."

"How am I supposed to sneak out? You should try living here, it's like Fort Knox," he told her.

"Did you pack your bag?" Allison asked, noticing his duffel on the bed.

"Well... yeah. I was kinda hoping she might... you know, maybe change her mind," he shrugged.

Leaning a little further into the room, Allison grabbed hold of the bag.

"Hey!" Brian cried.

"Come on. Live a little," she smirked, backing away from the window.

"You really are crazy, you know that? And you wanna watch yourself out there, you're gonna fall," he told her, matter-of-factly.

"COME ON KLEPTO! WE'VE GOTTA HIT THE ROAD!" someone called from outside (no prizes for guessing who).

"You heard the guy," Allison shrugged, turning and chucking Brian's bag down to Andy, who was stood nervously down below, watching Allison as if he were a mother whose toddler had gone way too far up the climbing frame.

Brian glanced at the bedroom door behind him, and then back at Allison.

_When you grow up, your heart dies._

That's what she had said. All those months back, in detention. And it had stuck with him- he didn't want his heart to die. Hell, sometimes he didn't want to grow up either, although he knew that that part was inevitable. But letting his heart die? He had a shot at making sure that didn't happen- and he could start now. Did he want to be on the open road with his friends, or did he want to be stuck in his room for the next four weeks, reading up on subjects that would still be there when he got back?

Grabbing his sweatshirt, Brian scrambled out of the window after Allison, who was stood waiting patiently at the edge of the garage roof.

"You sure about this?" Andy asked from below, looking over at the front door anxiously.

_Yep, _Brian thought, nodding as he climbed gingerly onto the car below, _my mother's definitely worked her magic on him._

"Alright! The geeks rebelling!" Bender called from the truck, as Brian picked up his bag and headed over. "All aboard!"

Allison slid back down from her position on the roof, aiming for the car but landing in Andy's arms.

"You're a genius, but don't ever do that to me again," he told her, looking shaken.

She smiled as he set her down on the ground.

"What's funny?" he asked, in dismay.

"You're just so cute, that's all. You almost looked scared there," she told him, kissing his cheek and scurrying back off toward the truck.

"You have no idea," he muttered, following after her.

"Okay, boys and girls!" Bender declared, starting the engine once everybody was strapped in. "Are we ready to rock and roll? And speaking of which, does anybody have a mix tape they'd like to proffer?"

No sooner had he finished his sentence, four cassette tapes were thrust in his direction.

"Jeez, keep your wigs on!" he cried, taking them tapes from his friends. "Alright, what have we got here..."

Looking at Claire's tape, he scoffed. "_Madonna?_"

"Shut up, John. What would you know about music anyway?" she huffed.

"More than you, obviously," Bender said sagely, turning Andrew's cassette tape over in his hand. "I can't say I'm much of a Springsteen fan either, but one point for effort. What's this, dork?"

"It's actually a mix of several different composers. Mozart, Beethoven, Bach and... and Tchaikovsky," Brian informed him.

Without a word, Bender flung the tape out of the window into the road.

"What are you doing?!" he cried, shocked. "There were some really rare pieces on there! Do you know how long it took me to find some of those? I can't believe you... I can't..."

Taking the final tape- marked 'Led Zeppelin- from Allison, Bender nodded in approval.

"Good choice, kid," was all he said, as he shoved the tape into the player and pulled away from the driveway.

"There are no words," Brian told Andy, in complete disbelief.

"Come on, man. Did you really think _John Bender _was going to drive a truck to Los Angeles whilst blasting Beethoven's fifth?" he chuckled.

"Guess not," Brian sighed, opening his bag and pulling out a crossword puzzle book. "What is this truck, anyway?"

Andrew, Allison and Claire all opened their mouths, but Bender cut them off.

"IT'S NOT FREAKIN' STOLEN!"


	5. Chapter 5

"I spy with my little eye something beginning with... L," Brian said from the back seat.

Claire looked around, evidently bored but with nothing better to do. "Um... Lion?"

"Claire, do you see any lions around here?" Brian asked seriously, looking at her in bewilderment.

"Well I don't know. I'm all out of ideas. Why don't you play with Andy?" she sighed.

"Huh?" Andy looked up, from where he had been sitting, reading a sporting magazine he had found in the back of the truck, which was almost two years out of date, but better than nothing.

"L. I spy with my little eye something beginning with L," the other boy repeated.

Andy shrugged, disinterested.

"I know. L for losers. That's all of you, for playing this dumb game," Bender informed them.

"What else should we do? We've been driving for hours," Brian pointed out.

He snorted. "Hours? Two and a half, max."

"It's gotta be more than that!" Andy exclaimed. "You're telling me we're not even in Springfield yet?"

"Nope."

"Well are we gonna stop off soon? I'm starving," he complained.

"What a surprise," Bender commented.

"It _is _a little cramped back here, it would be good to stretch my legs," Brian agreed, getting a look from their increasingly irritated driver. "What!? I happen to have very poor circulation."

"Yeah, I kinda need a bathroom stop," Claire told them.

Bender resisted the urge to explode, inhaling deeply instead. "Anything to add, Klepto? Don't hold back."

"She's asleep," Andy told him.

Seeing they were just about to pass a service plaza, Bender took a sharp turn into the parking lot and slammed on the breaks full force. Everybody went flying forward, and Allison, who had had her head rested on Andy's shoulder, sat up, confused.

"Not anymore she's not," Bender smirked.

"Ass hole," Andy commented.

"Bite me," he shot back, making eye contact with the sport via the interior mirror.

Andrew just shook his head, turning back to Allison, who was a little more awake now. "You okay?"

She just nodded, stretching and unfastening her seatbelt.

Bender glanced over at Claire, who had been reapplying her lip gloss at the time of his emergency stop, and now had it smeared half way across her face. He snorted, but the redhead was less than impressed.

"I don't even know why I agreed to come on this trip with you," she told him, leaving the truck and slamming the door as hard as she could before making her way across the parking lot toward the plaza. Andy and Allison weren't far behind, with the former casting another glare in Bender's direction as they went.

If Bender was fazed he hid it well, as he hopped out of the truck and sat himself on the bonnet, lighting a cigarette and tossing the used match across the parking lot.

"Great. This is great," Brian muttered to himself sarcastically, getting out of the truck and starting after the others. But not before tripping over and landing flat on his face, courtesy of his shoelace, which had somehow managed to untie itself during the journey.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

When Andy and Allison reached the plaza, there was no sign of Claire, who had presumably gone off to the restroom to sort her lip gloss out. Finding a diner inside, they chose a table that was big enough for the five of them, should the others ever decide to join them.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Andy asked, taking her hand across the table. "You didn't hit your head when we stopped?"

"No, I'm fine. Better than those two anyway," she said, referring to Bender and Claire.

"Yeah. Tense or what? God knows what his problem is," he sighed.

"Isn't it obvious? He's upset about Claire going to college on the other side of the country," Allison told him, as a waitress handed them a menu.

"You think?" he asked, more interested in what he was going to eat.

She just smiled, amused at her boyfriend's typical lack of perception.

"I'm feeling pizza. Pepperoni with extra cheese. What about you?" he asked, handing her the menu.

Allison shrugged. "I dunno. I'm not really that hungry."

He frowned. "Are you worrying?"

Allison just shrugged again, wondering where that lack of perception had suddenly gone.

"I'll come with you, you know? You won't be on your own," Andrew told her.

She glanced up and smiled weakly, seeing the sincerity in his eyes- all thoughts of pizza gone.

"I know."

Andy studied her face sincerely for a moment then before speaking again.

"How much do you know about her? Your mom, I mean."

"Not much," she replied, flipping through the menu without really taking any of it in. "I mean, my dad never really spoke about her."

"Did you never ask him?" he frowned.

"Sure, when I was a kid. He never told me much... just that she was younger than him. She was only eighteen when I was born, and... I dunno, I guess they were just too different. He always used to say that I was better off without her. I guess I believed him, back then. I suppose I thought... if she didn't care enough to keep in touch, then I didn't really need her anyway," Allison recalled.

"Do you really have _no _memories of her?" her boyfriend asked- she'd spoken so little about the whole situation, but he knew there had to be something sending her to LA, something more than Bender's stupid suggestion of a roadtrip.

"Not many. I can remember that she used to sing to me, sometimes. And that she always smelt of this one perfume. When I was ten I had this crazy idea that that was how I'd find her... like someday I'd walk right past her and smell her perfume. Stupid, ha?" she said, quietly.

"It's not stupid, Ally," he told her softly. "And it's hardly surprising you don't remember so much. You were only a kid when she left."

"There was one more thing."

Andrew watched her intently. "What's that?"

"The night she left," Allison admitted.

"You remember her leaving?" he frowned.

"I think so. I... I think it was my fault."

"How d'you figure that?" he asked, reaching across the table with his other hand and brushing her hair back away from her eyes. "Hmm?"

"I remember that the night she left, they were rowing. I mean, they were _always_ rowing, but this was different. My dad had been at work until late, so it was just me and my mom. And I remember that I liked it that way. He was so strict, but we always had so much fun when it was just the two of us, and that night... I remember begging her to stay up extra late. So she let me, and I don't know exactly what we were doing, but when my dad got home I was covered in paint and completely high on sugar... and..."

"He wasn't happy?" Andy guessed.

She shook her head. "I guess I got sent to my room, because I remember hearing the shouting. I'm pretty sure I never saw her again."

He sighed, searching her brown eyes for any trace of how she was feeling. But Allison kept her eyes trained on the menu in front of her, chewing her lower lip at the same time. Even after all the time they had been together, Andrew still hadn't worked out how to get his girlfriend to completely open up to him. Still, the last few minutes had been a start, and he wasn't particularly surprised to find out that she remembered a lot more than she had first indicated, when it came to her mother.

"It wasn't your fault, Ally. You were just a little girl," he reminded her.

"I know. I mean... most of the time, I know. It's just... sometimes, I find myself wondering if things would be different. If I hadn't been so dead-set on staying up late," she muttered.

Andy shook his head. "That's silly. They were the adults, they made their own choices. You can't blame yourself anymore. You were _four years old_."

She just inclined her head a little, her eyes still cast downward.

"Hey," he said gently, managing to get her to make eye contact. "I'm glad we had this conversation. I like it when you talk to me."

Allison smiled faintly, but didn't get a chance to reply, since they had now been joined by a flustered-looking Brian.

"I'm glad you guys are so relaxed," he told them, throwing his hands up in despair. "Does nobody else find this whole scenario completely insane? Am I the only one who can see that this is insane? It's insane!"

Finishing his rant, he looked down at his two friends sitting at the table, awaiting a response.

Allison just stared back at him blankly.

"What happened to your face?" Andy asked him.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

John Bender was sat in the driver's seat of his truck with his legs stretched across to rest on the dashboard, absent-mindedly pulling the reel of tape from one of the cassettes, when it's owner opened the passenger door and slumped down beside him.

Realizing what he was doing, Claire scowled. "Very mature."

"I don't like Madonna," he shrugged.

"You're an ass hole," came her reply

Bender gasped, feigning anxiety. "I'm a _what_? Jesus Christ you've crossed a line. However am I going to sleep tonight?"

"Why do you have to make a joke out of everything?" Claire snapped.

"I don't know, Cherry. Maybe for the same reason that you've gotta whine and bitch about everything like a spoiled little girl," he shot back.

She turned to face him, furious. "Me? What about you, you selfish pig? You've been throwing your toys out of your pram ever since I said I was going to Miami. Why can't you just be happy for me?"

"Has it ever occurred to you that not everything is about _you _Claire?" Bender asked, putting emphasis on the first part of her name, the same way he always did when he was pissed.

Flushing red, Claire folded her arms and turned back to face the front.

"That's right, sulk it up," he nodded.

"Why don't you just shut up John? Nobody wants to listen to your sarcastic comments all the way to LA," she told him.

"It's a free country," Bender reminded her.

"Yeah, so you're always saying. God, I don't even know why I thought it would be a good idea to go all the way across the country, stuck in a rusty old truck with _you_," she sighed.

"Well what are you doing here then, Princess? Do us all a favour and go back home to your Daddy. I certainly don't need your moaning ass in my truck," he snapped.

"I'm here for Allison. Nobody else. So don't kid yourself, ass hole," Claire told him.

"You're 'here for Allison'?" he repeated, pulling a face. "What? Like you're the world's greatest friend all of a sudden."

"Well at least I'm trying," she commented. "It just seems like you're trying to make this as difficult as possible for the rest of us with you're pathetic point scoring."

"I'm driving the damn truck, aren't I?" Bender pointed out. "And let's not forget who sat there in detention and said they wouldn't be friends with any of us anyway. You were gonna walk right past us in the halls, remember? So the _pep squad _wouldn't cast you out. Yeah, so get down off your fucking high horse Claire, because as far as being a 'good friend' goes, you don't have that much experience."

Furious now, Claire picked up the nearest thing (somebody's shoe) and flung it at her boyfriend.

"It's always going to come back to that isn't it?!" she cried. "And I don't deserve it, John! I proved myself to you guys on Monday, and I've been proving myself ever since! But all you do is remind me of the one time I was an immature child, too full of my own self importance, and I'm sick of it!"

"'Was'? Are we using the past tense?" Bender snorted.

She just shook her head now, giving up.

"What? No witty remark?" he pressed.

"That's your department," she shot back.

Bender mimicked her voice, pulling a face at the same time.

"How old are you?" Claire snapped. "You know what? It's not my fault you're pissed off about the whole Florida thing, John."

"Who said I'm pissed off about that? You can go wherever the hell you want, for me," he retorted. "It's-"

"A free country, yeah yeah," she nodded, rolling her eyes.

"Alright smart ass. I was actually gonna say it's none of my business," he told her.

"You're right, it's not. So why the hell are you acting like such an idiot?" Claire asked.

"A little warning would've been nice, that's all. I mean, one minute it's Indiana, next its the Sunshine State. That's a bit of a fucking difference, Cherry," he snapped.

"What do you care? I'm a spoiled little girl, remember? An immature child. A terrible friend!" she cried, her voice getting louder now as angry tears spilled down her cheeks. She could never figure him out and sometimes it frustrated her beyond belief.

"YEAH YOU'RE ALL OF THOSE DAMN THINGS CLAIRE, BUT I STILL DON'T WANNA LOSE YOU!" he shouted, slamming a hand against the steering wheel angrily.

Silence.

Claire stared at him with a look of disbelief on her face. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Bender was no Romeo- everybody knew that- but she also knew that his statement was probably the closest he'd ever come to declaring his feelings for somebody. There was no hint of sarcasm, no irritating nickname. And for the first time in a long time, Claire had no idea how to respond.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been sat there with her mouth hanging open, but she snapped out of it when the door beside Bender opened, and Andy's face appeared.

"Uh... are we going?" he asked, awkwardly. It was obvious he had seen or heard at least some of their row.

"You can drive for a bit Sporto," Bender told him, getting out and forcing the keys into the other boy's hands.

Andy glanced at Claire in confusion, but if he was hoping for an explanation, he didn't get one. Instead Claire just exhaled deeply, slipping out of the passenger seat to make room for Allison to sit up front, joining Bender and a worried looking Brian in the back.

Shrugging, Andy got in and started the truck.

"Um, Andrew? Do you... do you have your license?" Brian asked, somewhat nervously.

"Yes I have my license," he said, looking at him as if he were mad.

"Okay. Great. That's great. Just checking," he stammered.

"And since I'm behind the wheel now, I guess that means it's time for Bruce," Andy grinned, looking for his cassette tape.

"Yeah, if someone hasn't pulled the tape reel out of it," Claire muttered.

"No body better have, or they're totalled. That's my brother's copy," he said, checking the floor of the truck.

"Here," Allison produced the tape from god knows where, handing it to her boyfriend.

He smiled, taking it from her and holding onto her hand for a split longer than was necessary, before putting the tape into the player. Behind him, Bender mimed vomiting into Brian's bag.

If Andy noticed, he rose above it, pulling out of their parking space and glancing at the fuel gauge.

"We're nearly outta gas."

"So let's go to the gas station," Bender said in a cheesy voice, gesturing to the station a stone's throw away.

"Thanks, Bender. Hadn't thought of that," Andy commented, as he pulled in to the nearest fuel pump. "Why don't you go pay while I fill it up?"

"_Great_ idea," he declared, hopping out from the back of the truck and heading off toward the kiosk.

Andy got out too, filling the truck with as much gas as he thought they could afford.

He was barely back in the driver's seat when Bender came flying back out of the kiosk at top speed, narrowly dodging the black Volvo pulling away from the neighboring gas pump, and flinging himself back into the truck. "GO GO GO!"

"What the-?" Andy began, completely confused.

"I DIDN'T FRICKIN' PAY! GO!" he cried.

Seeing the staff were hot in pursuit of Bender, Andy slammed his foot on the accelerator and pulled away at top speed, ignoring the high pitched scream of somebody in the back seat (presumably Claire, but you never knew with Brian).

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It wasn't until they were safely back on the freeway that anybody spoke in a voice that wasn't a shout or a squeal.

"I cannot believe you just did that," Claire said simply, shaking her head.

"What the hell were you thinking you ass hole?!" Andy cried, furious at Bender.

"Him? What about you?! You were the one who went along with it!" she cried.

Allison squeaked, impatiently.

"Shut up," Bender told her simply.

"Don't tell her to shut up! What the hell did you do that for?" Andy demanded.

Bender shrugged. "Cutting costs."

"I have money. All you had to do was ask. We've just committed a serious crime, Bender," Brian said, obviously in complete shock. "I can't believe... you... we... I could've paid!"

"We're saving, not spending," he said, smirking.

"It's not funny, jagoff. We could be in serious shit," the sport told him.

"Oh relax, nobodies in any shit. We're home and dry. It was just a bit of fun, Sporto."

"It won't be a bit of fun if they got a good look at your license plate," he pointed out.

"Uh, guys?" Brian began.

Bender snorted again. "They didn't. You were doing about 80 across that parking lot. Never knew you had it in you."

"This is all a big joke to you isn't it?" Andy argued. "Yeah, stealing gas is _hilarious_ Bender."

"Guys?" Brian tried, again.

"It's just a bit of freakin' gas, you big girl! The economy ain't gonna crash!"

"What the hell would you know about the economy?"

"More than you, clearly, if you think 20 dollars worth of gas is going to bring Wall Street down."

"Guys!" Brian shouted.

"What the hell is your problem dork?" Bender demanded, turning to the smaller boy.

Silently, Brian gestured behind them with a look of complete and utter horror on his face. Whatever he had spotted also seemed to have caught Allison's attention, as she was looking back out of the open window of the passenger side too.

"Uh... oh..." she muttered.

Sure enough, now that the bickering had stopped, the others could hear it now too- the unmistakable sound of sirens.

Police sirens.


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm back! Sorry for the delay... I've been a bit busy to say the least. Anyway just a short chapter to keep the fire burning :) **

**Thanks so much again for all your reviews, especially Alliel 23, WhoNeedsReality and sabrina-luna-potter for your regular ones, they keep me going with this :) **

_"What the hell is your problem dork?" Bender demanded, turning to the smaller boy._

_Silently, Brian gestured behind them with a look of complete and utter horror on his face. Whatever he had spotted also seemed to have caught Allison's attention, as she was looking back out of the open window of the passenger side too._

_"Uh... oh..." she muttered._

_Sure enough, now that the bickering had stopped, the others could hear it now too- the unmistakable sound of sirens._

_Police sirens._

"Great. That's _fucking brilliant_," Andy declared, glancing in his mirror at the police car behind them. "Home and dry are we, Bender?"

"So step on the gas, we can lose them," he suggested.

"I've had enough of your dumb ideas for one day," he sighed, pulling over onto the shoulder and stopping the truck.

"We're done for. We're going to prison... we'll have criminal records! My Harvard acceptance is ruined..." Brian was muttering to himself in the back, a look of terror still on his face.

The police car had pulled in behind them, and within seconds, a middle-aged man was leaning into Allison's window, flashing his badge at them.

"Afternoon, kids. I'm Sargent Lewis , this is my colleague Smith," he began, gesturing to the younger man behind him.

"How can we help you Officer?" Andy asked, trying to keep his cool.

The cop folded his arms. "You John Bender?"

"What? No!" Andy choked. In the back, Bender snorted, earning himself a sharp dig in the ribs from Claire.

"One of you guys John Bender?" the cop asked, looking at the two other boys in the back.

"No," Bender replied, pulling his most serious face. "Nobody here is John Bender."

Lewis looked back at Andrew, considering him for a moment. "License?"

Sighing, Andy produced his driver's license.

"Funny," he said, after a moment of examining it. "You live real close to John Bender."

"What a coincidence that is. However, I must regrettably inform you that we have never heard of a 'John Bender'," Bender told him from the back seat.

"Then you won't mind if I ask you all to step out of the vehicle, will you?"

Swearing under his breath, Andy opened the door and jumped out.

"Out ya come missy," Lewis ordered, opening the door for Allison.

"Why does she have to get out? I mean, unless you think _she _might be John Bender," Andy snapped.

"I want you all out and stand in a line for me. Hands where I can see them," the cop said, ignoring him.

Allison joined Andy around the other side of the truck, as the two cops ushered the others out of the back seat.

"Why do I get the feeling this isn't about gas?" Allison whispered.

"What do you mean?" Andy asked, confused.

"They know his name. Do you think he gave the people at the gas station his _name _before he ran out without paying?" she pointed out.

"So," Sargent Lewis began, standing in front of the five of them. "Are we all absolutely sure that we don't know John Bender?"

Silence for a moment.

"Um, officer?" Claire began.

Bender turned to look at her, clearly convinced that she was about to sell him out.

"If you don't mind me asking, what did this Bender guy do?" she began, cautiously.

"Well, Mr Bender Senior reported his truck as stolen earlier today. He has reason to believe that the little joyrider might be his son," he explained. "Coincidentally, his truck and your truck seem to have the same license plate."

With that, he put his hand out in Bender's direction. "License."

"I don't have it," he shrugged, feigning regret.

"Any form of ID will be fine."

Bender made as though he was searching through his pockets, before shaking his head. "Nope. Sorry, that's a negative."

"I'm rapidly losing patience," Lewis informed him.

"Just give it up. You're making it worse," Claire hissed, furiously.

Bender glanced at her, before rolling his eyes and handing his license over to the cop.

"Ah. So, you don't know John Bender, but you have his license and you're driving his father's truck. Interesting," Lewis said, looking fairly pleased with himself. "You kids are coming with me."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Four of the five friends promptly found themselves in a police cell at the local station, where they had now been for several boring hours. Bender, naturally, had been taken away for questioning, leaving the other four to mull over their fates.

"I can't believe he'd get us into this much shit," Claire muttered, pacing up and down the small cell. "My parents are gonna freak out if they hear about this."

"I freaking knew that truck was stolen," Andy raged, kicking the bars of the cell to no avail.

"So why did you drive it?" Claire snapped.

"I dunno, for the same reason you sat in it the whole way here?" he shot back.

Silence then, as both of them realized they had no excuse.

Sighing, Andy glanced back at Allison, who had sat on the bench in the corner of the cell beside Brian- currently a gibbering wreck. Allison, however, appeared as calm as ever, and was watching the two of them row with mild interest.

"I don't think we should fight right now," she told them, taking advantage of the pause in their spat.

"I know. I'm sorry," Andy knelt beside her, taking both of her hands in his. "You okay?"

Allison nodded. "Yeah. I just think we should all stick together right now."

"She's right," Claire agreed, leaning her head against the bars exhaling deeply. "It was John who got us into this mess, nobody else."

"I wonder what they'll do to him..." Allison muttered.

"I dunno, I mean I can't believe his own father would shop him like that," Andy frowned.

"You've obviously never met the guy," the redhead commented.

"Have you?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Is he is as bad as John says?" Allison asked, almost cautiously.

"Put it this way, I don't think he'll be dropping the charges anytime soon," she said.

"Well surely they can't charge us all? We didn't even do anything!" he cried.

"You _were _driving," Claire pointed out. "And I don't know anything about how this kinda stuff works, so there's no point asking me. Believe it or not, I've never been arrested before."

"Bri. Come on, snap out of it. You're the only one here who knows anything about legal stuff," Andy said, reaching across and tugging Brian's arm.

The other boy looked up, seeming a little more with it. "'Legal stuff'? I'm not an expert, Andrew. That's why I was going to _law school_. Until we ruined all of our college applications by driving a stolen vehicle half way across Illinois!"

Claire snickered softly, but it was clear that Brian didn't see the funny side of it as he scowled across at her.

"Well don't you think you're overreacting just a bit?" she asked.

"Is theft a joke, Claire?" the geek asked, deadly serious.

"I think what she's trying to say is that... _technically_, none of us actually knew for sure that thing was stolen," Andy placated him. "How long can they keep us here?"

"Twenty-four hours," the other boy told him. "If they don't charge us, they can only keep us for twenty-four hours."

"That's something, I suppose," he nodded.

"Great. Then we'll get out of here and go home, before anything else goes wrong," Claire decided.

"Home?" Andy frowned. "We're going to LA."

"You can't be serious?" she asked in disbelief. "We're not even out of Illinois and we've already been arrested, Andy! There are _zero _reasons to carry on with this little adventure."

"Uh, I can think of one. How about, we said we'd go find Ally's mom?!" he suggested, his temper flaring up again.

"They don't have to come," Allison interjected, quietly. "It's their choice."

Claire glanced across at her, and it was clear the redhead had some pricks of conscience setting in, but she shook her head unsurely all the same. "I dunno, I just feel like this whole thing has been a disaster so far. I don't know if it's a good idea after all."

"Great, Claire. Well when you make up your mind, let us know. Either way, when we get outta here we're gonna borrow a car from my cousin in Springfield, and we're going to LA. You're either in, or you're out. That goes for all of you," Andrew told them.

Claire looked a little lost for words then, but she needn't have worried too much, since the rest of the group were distracted by the appearance of Bender, being escorted down the corridor by Sargent Lewis.

"Can we get outta here yet?" Andy demanded.

"Short answer: no. But in better news, I'm delivering Mr Bender here for your entertainment," Lewis told them, unlocking the door to the cell.

"Woopy doo," Bender said sarcastically, as Lewis shoved him in. "Hey, where's the mini bar? Can I call room service?"

"Hilarious. The only thing you'll be calling is your lawyer," the older man said, locking the door again and disappearing back the way he had come.

Bender kicked at the bars angrily, muttering some expletives under his breath before slumping down on the floor.

"What did they say?" Claire asked.

He shrugged.

"John!"

"They just asked me a bunch of questions about the stupid frickin' truck. That's all. Nothing exciting," he snapped.

"What questions?"

"Why I stole it. Who else knew it wasn't mine. That kinda trash," Bender shrugged.

"And what did you say?" Brian asked, urgently.

Bender surveyed his friends, who were all watching him in anticipation. Then he smirked.

"I said 'no comment.'"

There was a collective groan from around the room.


	7. Chapter 7

**Once again, thank you for the reviews! Here's the next chapter :)  
>By the way, I apologize if there seems to be a mix of American and British spellings in my stories... The website seems to be guiding me well, but I feel like there probably is some unconscious British spellings slipping their way in there. I'm trying to be consistent, honest! <strong>

An unwelcome clanging sound awoke Allison the next morning.

"Rise and shine!"

Lifting her head up from where it had been resting against Andy's chest, she blinked the sleep (or what little she had managed) away.

Sargent Lewis had opened the door of the dingy cell, and was wrapping his keys against the bars impatiently.

"Come on, I ain't got all week! You kids think this is five star or something?!"

"I don't think _anybody _could mistake this for five star," Claire muttered. She was still in the corner where she had been sat the night before, looking like she hadn't slept a wink, her hair disheveled and her make-up in serious need of a touch-up.

"It's freezing," Andy grumbled, sitting up and rubbing his hands together.

"Oh, well I'm so sorry our humble dwellings didn't meet the standards to which you're so obviously accustomed," Lewis gibed. "On your feet all of you, unless you want to spend another night in here."

"Excuse me sir, but where's John?" Brian stood up, obviously achy from a night spent on a metal bench.

It was only then that the others realized they were one man down.

"You're little friend is currently being cautioned, then he'll be free to go," he replied.

"You're not charging him?" Claire asked, unable to hide her disbelief.

"Not this time, missy. Shockingly, Mr Bender doesn't have any previous, so he's escaping with a warning on this occasion," Lewis explained, noticing that Allison was staring at him- her mouth hanging open. "Yeah, tell me about it. I was as shocked as you to see that guy's record was clean."

"Wow," Claire said under her breath, standing up.

"Indeed. Now you kids come with me and get your personal effects, then you're outta here," he said, leading them out of the cell and down the narrow corridor toward the front desk.

Once reunited with their belongings the four friends sat in the waiting area until Lewis eventually escorted Bender out.

"Well will you look at that? My groupies," he smirked, as Lewis forced a pen into his hand to sign the release papers.

"Yeah, I wouldn't be so sure. Your ass ain't that popular right now," the cop said, tossing Bender his wallet. "Now get out of here, and don't let me catch you kids causing any more trouble round here or last night will look like holiday camp."

"Don't suppose there's any chance we're getting the truck back?" Bender asked.

Lewis stared at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Just shut up and let's get the hell outta here you idiot," Andy hissed.

Bender shrugged and made his way past the others until he got to Claire, who was glaring at him, unimpressed.

He smirked, putting out a hand and further messing up her hair. "Morning Sunshine."

Furiously, Claire pulled away and stomped out of the door, letting it slam behind her.

Bender snorted. "Somebody got out of the wrong side of the cell."

"Let's just go," Andy sighed, following Claire out.

They walked down the quiet road for several kilometers then, toward the nearest small town.

It was silent for the most part, aside from Bender attempting to hitch-hike with a couple of passing vehicles, but it was Brian who eventually broke the silence.

"Look, guys? Where are we even going? Does anybody know? It just seems like we're walking kinda aimlessly..." he said, as logical as ever.

"We're _walking _up this bend, around the corner and into the town, to find somewhere to get breakfast. Unless you got any better ideas, Dork?" Bender asked.

"Well how far is it Bender?" Andy asked, gesturing to Allison who was trailing behind him, obviously exhausted.

"I don't know Sporto. Let's just stop here, I'll take out my crystal ball and we'll find out shall we?" he said, sarcastically.

"Fuck you."

If Andy's response was designed to offend him, it didn't have the desired effect. Instead, Bender just laughed, raising his hands up in defense. "Well _so-ree_! Jeez, what crawled up your ass and died?"

"I think we're all just a little tired," Brian stammered, ever the peacemaker. "You know? It wasn't the most comfortable of places to spend the night..."

"Tell me about it, the sooner I get some coffee the better," Claire groaned.

Bender grinned. "Actually, I slept pretty well, now you mention it."

His comment was met with stony silence, and unfriendly glares from both Claire and Andy, which told Bender in no uncertain terms that he should stop digging.

Faced with such hostility, Bender would have used a few choice words and ditched the others off, had he not noticed the corner of Allison's mouth turning up as she watched him from beneath her hair.

Best to stick around, Bender decided. Normal service would soon be resumed.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Feeling more like yourself Princess?" Bender asked, when Claire finally joined them at the table of a local diner. She had spent a good half an hour in the restroom since they had arrived, but still looked less than happy.

"I'll be better when I've had some caffeine," she sighed, sulkily.

"Here you go Claire," Brian passed the coffee press across the table.

"Oh my god. Thank you. You're a life saver," Claire stated, dramatically.

"My hero," Bender chimed in, putting his hand to his heart.

"So, what did you say to them?" Andy asked, tucking into the biggest 'big breakfast' any of them had ever seen.

"Who?" he asked.

"Don't play dumb, Bender. The cops. I don't buy all that 'no comment' bullshit. You got us all off the hook somehow," the sport said.

Bender just shrugged. "Does it matter? We got out, didn't we?"

Andy didn't appear ready to drop the subject so quickly, but they were interrupted by a dour, bubble gum chewing waitress who looked like she'd rather be anywhere else right then.

"One croissant with butter. One bowl of muesli. One orange juice, two teas. Anything else?" she asked, in monotone.

"How about some job satisfaction?" Bender suggested.

The waitress rolled her eyes, tossing the check onto the table and sauntering back toward the kitchen.

"Or not," Bender turned back to the table, noticing the amused look on Andy's face. "Ah, we have ourselves a happy little Letterman. I knew you were just grumpy cause you were hungry."

"Do you ever stop?" Claire sighed, reaching for her croissant.

"What's your problem Cherry? _Andrew's _lightened up, why can't you do the same?" he asked, sliding the glass of orange juice across the table to Allison, who caught it just before it went over the edge.

"Yeah, well. Doesn't mean I wanna end up in another situation like last night again," Andrew told him. "So if we're all carrying on to LA, you better behave, Bender."

"You're starting to sound like Dick," Bender informed him, taking a bite out of his BLT.

"I want this to be fun, okay? I want us to have a good trip. I _don't _want to get arrested, that's all," he explained.

"Fine, fine," Bender rose one hand in the air, holding up three fingers. "I wont steal anything else. Scout's honor."

"Are you gonna call your cousin?" Allison asked her boyfriend, pushing her pancakes around on the plate.

"Are _you _gonna eat that?" Bender asked, reaching across to steal some.

Andy knocked his arm out of the way. "Leave her."

"You can have some of this," Brian offered.

Bender took one look at the bowl of muesli, and then back up at Brian in disgust. "Rabbit food?"

"It's actually very good for you. Very high in fiber, and good for you digestive system," he babbled. "My grandma swears by it. You know, she says that she's eaten a bowl of muesli every morning of her life since 1924, and she's never been ill."

"Yeah, sounds like bullshit," Bender confirmed.

"Could your cousin really lend us a car?" Brian asked, turning to talk to Andy before Bender could slip anymore insults in.

Andy nodded. "Sure, I don't see why not. I mean, my uncles in the auto trade. They've always got cars sitting about."

"Where does he live?"

"I'd guess it's about an hour from here. We can probably take a bus, or something," Andy told them. "I'll call him from the payphone after we've eaten. Ask him if he can get us a truck or something. That is, if you guys are all still in?"

Bender shrugged. "Beats spilling paint in the garage all summer."

"Bri?" Andy looked at him, wondering if last night had all been a little bit too much for the quiet bookworm.

But Brian nodded, sipping his tea. "If I go back now, I'll probably be grounded for the rest of the summer anyway."

Andrew glanced across at Claire, who was stirring her coffee absentmindedly.

"You're quiet. What about you?" he asked.

Claire looked up at him, then chewed her lip in consideration.

"You don't have to come. Not if you don't want to," Allison told her, sincerely.

The redhead sighed. "I do want to, Allison. I wanna go and I wanna be there for you. But..."

"But it's day two and already her lip liner has smudged," Bender put in.

The movement under the table suggested that Claire's boot had connected with Bender's ankle at some force, as he cried out in pain.

"AGH! What the fuck, Claire!?"

"It's not like that, you ass hole. I wanna go with you guys, but I don't want a repeat of last night," she told him, angrily. "I don't wanna end up in a jail cell, or a hospital, or anywhere else like it."

"I... don't think any of us do..." Allison said quietly, glancing around the table.

"I know that," she muttered. "I just can't risk my parents finding about something like us spending the night in a police cell."

"Oh, what? Are you worried they'll take away your allowance? Your Daddy's BMW? Your Prada handbag? You're pathetic," Bender snapped.

"Stop it," Allison told him.

"No, please. Carry on! Let's all hear how pathetic I am! What would you know, you pig?!" Claire cried, angry tears spilling down her face.

"I know your frickin' parents are in the south of France, doin' what richies do! They're not gonna know about their precious princess roughing it in a police cell! So I don't get what your problem is!" Bender shouted back.

"_That _is the problem! The south of France is the problem!" she cried.

Silence for a moment then, and Bender looked at her as though she had gone mad.

"What do you mean?" Allison asked carefully.

Claire dried her eyes, seemingly calmer now. "This... trip. To France. It's kind of a last chance saloon for them. They've been having problems for a while now, you know? That's why the went... to get away and try and sort things out."

Andy frowned. "Are things really that bad?"

She nodded. "I'm afraid that if this trip doesn't fix things... they'll get a divorce."

"W...would that be such a bad thing? I mean, if they're rowing all the time anyway..." Brian began.

"I don't know, but I don't _want _them to get divorced," Claire began, casting a glance at Bender.

For the first time since they had sat down, he was silent. It was obvious he had not had a clue about any of it.

"I know I probably don't have the right to complain," she continued. "I mean, even if they did split up, I know I still wouldn't have it as bad as some of you guys do. But... when I go to college, they'll be all each other has. You know?"

Andy nodded, deep in thought.

"That's why I don't want us to get into trouble. I don't think I could live with myself if I was the reason their trip got cut short and they didn't get a chance to sort their issues out," she told them.

"So... if we try and stay out of trouble, will you come?" Allison asked.

Smiling weakly, Claire nodded.

"Great so I'll go call my cousin," Andy decided, standing up. "And whilst I'm gone... well, I don't think Claire's parents are the only couple that need to 'sort their issues out'."

With that, he disappeared outside in the direction of the payphone, leaving the other four in silence.

"You know, I think he was talking about you guys," Brian informed them, gesturing between Bender and Claire.

"Somebody get the boy a lifetime membership with Mensa!" Bender quipped.

Sighing deeply, Claire shook her head, leaving the table and disappearing back into the restrooms.

"Um, John? I think... I think you should really apologize to her," Brian began, timidly.

"You know what, Dork? I don't really think I need to take relationship advice from somebody who's first love was a freakin' logarithmic equation. But thanks for the input," Bender snapped, standing up himself and stalking off outside.

"Great. I give up. I _give_ up. I can't keep up with them. The boy is impossible," Brian muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "I mean... you try to help somebody and that's what you get. Well that's just brilliant. All he has to do is apologize, but oh no. As usual, over complicating things..."

As if for validation, Brian turned to look at the only other remaining person at the table, just in time to catch her adding a seventh stick of sugar to her orange juice, and his rambling ceased as he surveyed the scene in complete and utter confusion.

Noticing it had gone silent, Allison put her head up to look at him.

"What?"


	8. Chapter 8

Claire slumped down onto the bench under the rickety bus shelter, huffing loudly and kicking at a nearby stone. "There's no bus coming, Andy."

"Yes there is!" Andrew insisted. "Trust me, it'll be here any minute."

"You've been saying that for the last forty minutes, Sporto," Bender pointed out, ripping a worn-looking poster from the side of the shelter, screwing it up and aiming it at Allison's head.

"Forty five," Brian interjected, as Allison unfolded the poster and examined it, before shrugging and stuffing it into her bag.

"What?" Bender asked, impatiently.

"Forty five," the geek repeated, looking at his watch. "Forty five minutes. That's how long we've been standing at this bus shelter."

"Feels like forty five years to me," Claire muttered, pulling a face.

No body disagreed- it had seemed like an eternity, not helped by the evident tension between her and Bender.

"You're all so freakin' negative," Andy informed them.

"Sorry _Mom_," Bender responded, plastering an obviously fake smile across his face.

"Whatever. How about no body speaks unless they've got something positive to say?" he suggested.

Bender pulled out a pen knife (newly acquired, since Richard Vernon still had his original one) and proceeded to make his mark on the bus shelter. Brian watched with a mix of fascination and horror as Claire produced a pocket mirror and a pair of tweezers, going to work on her eyebrows. Glancing across at them with vague disinterest, Allison rested her head in her hands and her elbows on her knees, content to do nothing whilst Andrew busied himself playing with her hair.

At least ten minutes of complete and utter silence followed, during which Brian established that he was definitely happy not to be a girl, before Allison brought them all out of their activities in the only way she knew how.

"BUS!"

Startled, Claire dropped her mirror. "Jesus, Allison!"

Brian stared at the brunette for a whole second before he wondered why he was even surprised anymore, turning to check the road behind him. Sure enough, the world's oldest bus was heading toward them.

"Well hallelujah!" Bender declared, stepping to the curb to hail it down.

Andy looked at his girlfriend, amused.

Allison just shrugged. "It was positive."

Smiling, he kissed her head before standing up and extending his hand to her.

"This better be going our way, Sporto," Bender informed him, as the bus pulled to a stop in front of them.

Andy rolled his eyes, leaning in as the doors opened. "You going anywhere near Richmond Springs?"

The bus driver, a balding middle-aged man who looked like he could use a bath, shrugged unenthusiastically.

"There or there abouts," he replied, vaguely.

"Well that's helpful," Bender commented, as they hopped aboard. The bus was empty, aside from one bored-looking man upfront, who was almost definitely wearing a toupée.

Once they'd paid, the five of them made their way to the back seat, and Claire opened a couple of windows to try and alleviate the foul yet sadly familiar stench of public transport.

"Your cousin sure as hell better have a car for us," Bender commented, sitting down and stretching out, resting his feet on the seat in front.

"He said he did. Relax man," Andrew sighed.

"This bus is filthy. It's disgusting," Claire commented, wiping the seat before sitting down.

"Well you better get comfortable and learn to slum it, Princess. It's gonna be a long journey," Bender informed her, making himself at home and starting to whistle. He was about a quarter of the way through 'Smoke on the Water' when the man in the toupée cast them a look, and Andy dug him sharply in the ribs.

Nodding sagely, Bender gave the man a small wave. "Good day for bus travel, huh?"

Grunting, the man turned back to face the front.

"Quit it," Claire hissed.

"Jeez, you boys and girls are so grumpy today. Didn't any of you get a good night's sleep?" he joked.

No body graced him with a reply, but the dark looks made Bender smirk.

"Fine. Why don't the _children _get forty winks, and Uncle Bender will wake you all up when we reach our destination?" he suggested, pulling out a battered-looking personal cassette player and putting his headphones on.

"Probably not a bad idea, even for him," Andy sighed, glancing at Allison, who stifled a yawn.

"You guys do what you want. I'm just gonna sit here and pretend this isn't happening," Claire said in disgust, brushing some dust from her skirt.

Shrugging, Andy slipped one arm around Allison. She settled her head against him, closing her eyes.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Allison wasn't sure how long she had been asleep, or whether she had been completely asleep at all, but the sound of arguing brought her out of it.

Opening her eyes, she could see that the man in the toupée was no longer on the bus, but had been replaced with several guys in leather jackets. They looked to be a few years older than her and her friends, and they were currently going at it with none other than John Bender.

Lifting her head up from Andy's shoulder, she nudged him cautiously.

"Hm?" he opened his eyes sleepily, looking across at her. "We there?"

Allison shook her head, gesturing with her eyes toward the middle of the bus where Bender was standing, arguing with one of the guys about something or other.

Becoming a little more alert, Andrew sat up straight, turning to look at Brian and Claire, who were both watching the scene with nervous anticipation.

"How long have we been asleep?" he asked, quietly.

"I dunno, about an hour," Brian muttered, dragging his eyes away from Bender to glance at his watch.

"And what's that about?" he probed.

Claire sighed, her voice low. "They got on a couple of stops back. One of them made some dumb comment about 'the misfits' on the back row. John should have just left it, but you know what he's like- he just couldn't resist. One of them was eating a burger, next thing he knows, he's wearing it."

"I don't think this is gonna end well," Brian stammered nervously, seeing the tallest of the three leather-clad guys had stood up now, squaring up to Bender.  
>Bender had several inches on his counterpart, and didn't appear too concerned by his posturing, instead reaching out and tugging at the jacket. "What's this, <em>pleather<em>?"

"Listen ass hole," the guy began, pushing Bender's hand away. "We don't take too kindly to freaks like you showing up in _our _neighborhood, acting like Billy Big Balls, you know what I mean?"

"Oh. Oh no! What a grave mistake I have made. I am so terribly, terribly sorry," Bender replied, in mock distress.

The other guy snorted, looking to his friends behind him. "We've got ourselves a real joker here, boys."

"Andy you need to do something before this gets out of control," Claire whispered, uneasily.

Exhaling deeply, Andy stood up and made his way over to where the two of them were standing.

"Hey. We don't want any trouble guys," he said, putting one hand on Bender's shoulder.

"Speak for yourself, Sporto," he snapped, pulling away.

"Aww look, your little jock friend has come to rescue you. How sweet," the guy mocked, pulling a face.

"Just sit down, Bender," Andy muttered.

"Yeah _Bender_, sit down," he imitated, putting one hand to Bender's chest and giving him a shove backwards.

"Hey!" Andy warned, the wrestler in him fighting its way to the surface now. "Back off, man. I mean it."

"Or what? Are you gonna make me?" the guy challenged, amused.

"Try me, you prick."

At Andy's words, the taller boy went for him, but the jock was quicker, catching hold of him by the collar of his leather jacket. Allison let out a squeak, looking a little panicked, though it was evident that Andrew had the upper hand.

"You kids sit down or get off!" the bus driver called.

The boys had locked eyes, neither wanting to back down, but eventually the taller pulled away from Andy, sniggering- his attention had been averted.

"This your girlfriend?" he asked, moving past the sport and standing in front of Allison.

"You leave her alone," Andrew warned.

The guy leaned down, examining Allison's face closely. She glared back, unblinking.

"Cute," he commented, puckering his lips at her teasingly and putting one hand to her chin.

Big mistake.

Before Allison's tormentor knew what was happening, somebody had grabbed him from behind, flinging him halfway across the bus. He landed on the floor between two seats with a grunt, but had little time to do much else before Andy was standing over him, one foot clamping down on his manhood. Letting out a roar of pain, he tried to wriggle free, but Andrew was stronger.

"YOU WANNA PICK ON SOMEONE YOU PICK ON ME, JACK ASS!" he shouted, livid with rage.

The boy's two friends jumped to help him, but having seen Andy in action they were far more cautious than before, and it didn't take much for Bender to send them both flying back into their seats.

"That's it! You reprobates hit the pavement!" the bus driver cried, slamming the breaks on.

"Let's just get the hell off of here," Claire said, urging Brian and Allison to the front of the bus.

The moment the doors opened and Andy released him, his victim jumped up, ready for another round. In one last act of stupidity, Bender reached across and pulled the driver's hat from his head, flinging it back in the direction of the three guys, as he and Andy made their escape from the bus.

Thankfully, before the leather brigade could follow, the doors closed and the bus screeched off at some speed, leaving the five of them by the side of the road once again.

No body spoke for a moment, and then Andy erupted at Bender, furious.

"Jesus Christ, Bender! Can't you stay out of trouble for one frickin' day?!"

"Guess not, jockstrap," Bender countered, deliberately antagonistic.

"Fellas come on..." Brian began, patting both of them on the shoulder.

"If you wanna get your own ass kicked, go ahead!" Andy cried, ignoring Brian's attempts at diplomacy. "But don't drag the rest of us into it! And especially not her!"

With that, he pushed past the both of them, putting a hand out to Allison.

"Klepto's a big girl. She doesn't need you to be her knight in shining armor," Bender commented.

"What would you know? Maybe if you spent a little less time talking about _my _relationship, you might be able to get things right with your own girlfriend. Come on Ally," he said sincerely, taking a hold of her hand and starting off in the direction the bus had gone.

Muttering something about couples and too much drama, Brian scurried after them, closely followed by Claire.

Bender rolled his eyes, unwilling to take Andrew's comments seriously, but the redhead stopped a few paces ahead, turning back to look at him.

"You know, he's right," was all she said.

No body uttered another word, all the way to Richmond Springs.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It was early afternoon by the time they reached the garage owned by Andrew's uncle. 'Clark's Auto Parts' was a large and clearly well-run business, though shop floor was a little chaotic, littered with cars of all shapes and sizes, and mechanics working on them here and there.

"It's big," was all Claire said, when the five of them reached the main entrance, stopping just inside.

Andy nodded. "Yeah. My uncle built it up from the ground. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Is that my little cuz?"

The voice came from a nearby Chevrolet, and a man in his early twenties appeared from underneath, his overalls covered in oil. He was a little taller than Andy, and with darker hair, but the resemblance was undeniable.

Andy grinned, reaching out and grabbing his cousin's hand in a firm shake. "Vinny!"

"Hey man," Vinny smiled. "How's it going?"

"Better now we've finally made it here. Don't ask. Thanks for helping us out," Andrew said.

"It's no problem. Just bring it back in one piece when you're done with it, that's all I ask," his cousin grinned.

"I'll do my best. These are my friends by the way. Brian, Claire and... Bender," Andy told him, gesturing to the others. "And this is my girlfriend."

"Ah, the famous Allison. I've heard a bit about you," he said.

Raising an eyebrow, she looked at Andrew questioningly.

"All good," Vinny assured her. "It's good to meet you all. I've always wondered what kinda martyrs would be friends with my dear cousin, here."

Andy feigned laughter, punching Vinny in the arm. "Hilarious. Are you gonna show us this truck or what?"

"Sure. This way," Vinny nodded, leading them through the garage and out back. "And it's not exactly a truck, either. But it's got enough room for all of you, and it should get you to LA without any problems."

"Just so long as it's not stolen," Claire muttered.

"Stolen?" he questioned, amused.

"Again, don't ask," Andrew rolled his eyes, following his cousin out onto the concourse behind the garage, which was mostly filled with scrap metal and spare parts.

"Here ya go," Vinny tossed a set of keys to him. "She's all yours."

With that, the five of them turned to look at their prospective vehicle.

Bender snorted, Andy did a double-take, and Brian's eyes widened until they resembled saucers. Claire and Allison were no better- their mouths hanging open in shock.

For a moment, a stunned silence ensued, before somebody managed to string a sentence together.

"That is a freaking _hearse_!"


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks once again for the reviews! Especially Fluff-is-awesome for the really nice reviews on this and on the other story too :) I don't know exactly what my plans for Claire & Bender are yet, but I have a few ideas for them! **

_Bender snorted, Andy did a double-take, and Brian's eyes widened until they resembled saucers. Claire and Allison were no better- their mouths hanging open in shock. _

_For a moment, a stunned silence ensued, before somebody managed to string a sentence together. _

"_That is a freaking hearse!" _

"Look, it's not a hearse," Vinny began, chuckling nervously as five skeptic faces turned to look at him. "Heh... not exactly. I mean, sure it's a funeral car. But it's got eight seats! Plenty of room, right?"

"Even so..." Andy began, unsurely.

Vinny shrugged. "Sorry man but it's all I've got. Unless you want that," he gestured to a rusted 1960's mini with a window missing.

"Uh, you know I'm sure this hearse... _funeral car_ will be just fine," Brian stammered.

Glancing at him, Andrew nodded. "Yeah. It'll be great. Thanks, Vinny. I appreciate it."

"Okay kids, let's get this show on the road," Bender declared, grabbing the keys from Andy and opening the trunk.

Brian put his bag in, shrugging. "I've gotta say, it's a little earlier in my life than I'd planned to ride in one of these things but I guess it'll be an experience."

"That's one word for it," Claire muttered.

"I'll drive, shall I?" Bender asked, getting in behind the wheel.

"Too right, it's the least you can do," Andy agreed. "But _I _choose the music."

"Fine," Bender reached across to open the passenger door for Claire, but she cast him a sulky look, sitting in the middle row of seats with Brian.

Vinny snorted, leaning in toward Bender. "What did you do?"

He rolled his eyes, smirking. "How long have you got?"

Andy shook his cousin's hand again, patting him on the back. "Thanks again. I'll see you get it back when we're done, don't worry."

"It's no problem," Vinny assured him. "Have fun in LA with all those stars."

Once Andy and Allison were in the back, Bender pulled away, ignoring the anxious shouts from Brian as he nearly backed into the dilapidated mini.

"Relax dork, I'm just getting used to how long this thing is," he snorted, snatching the cassette tape that Andy had passed up front via Claire and shoving it into the player as he pulled out onto the main street.

"This is more like," Andy declared, as Bruce Springsteen came on.

"'More like it' as opposed to what?" Bender asked, lighting a cigarette.

"Do you have to do that?" Claire complained, waving a hand in front of her face to bat the smoke away.

"Yes."

"As _opposed _ to the rubbish you and Ally like listening to?" Andy suggested, earning himself a smack around the head, courtesy of his girlfriend. "So what's the plan?"

"I thought we were going to LA?" Brian frowned, confused.

"You know Bri, for someone so intelligent you can be pretty stupid at times," the sport told him. "We're hardly getting all the way to LA today, are we? Where we headed Bender?"

"You mean to say you guys don't even have this trip mapped out?" the geek asked, in disbelief. "How can you guys not have this trip mapped out?!"

"Please," Claire scoffed. "John can't even map his way through high school."

If Bender heard her comment, he did well to hide it, instead pulling out an aged-looking map that somebody had thought to bring along, and casting his eyes over it.

"If you wanna do the whole Route 66 thing then we're headed toward St Louis."

"Right, so let's get into Missouri and then find a hotel or something. I need a good night's sleep," Claire said.

He shrugged. "Fine by me. Sporto?"

When he didn't get a reply, Bender turned back to look at the other boy, who was too busy air guitaring to Springsteen's 'Born in the USA.'

"Wow Andrew, I never knew just how patriotic you truly were," he commented.

"Well, Bender, you know this song isn't actually patriotic at all?" Brian told him, as sincere as ever. "If you listened to the lyrics, you'd know that it's actually a critique on the way the country treated the Vietnam veterans."

Claire bit back a smile, enjoying seeing Bender corrected, but he just huffed.

"Big deal. Who listens to lyrics anyway?"

"Not you, clearly," Allison commented.

He cast her an almost disbelieving look, evidently wondering why she had decided to join in with the 'Bender bashing', but Allison just blew her hair from her eyes and stared back at him, before resuming her usual activity gazing from the window.

Sighing, Bender averted his eyes back to the road. "This is gonna be the longest two hours of my fuckin' life."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Brian was engrossed. The book was one of the best he had ever read. The precision in the words... the symbolism behind each of the characters... Brian couldn't believe he had waited so long to read Nikolai Gogol's '_Dead Souls_'. He was so drawn in by the story that he had managed to tune the bickering of his friends out for a whole hour, and when he finally dragged himself away from the 116th yellowing page of the book, he wasn't even sure how long they had apparently been stopped at the side of the road.

Slipping a bookmark between the pages, Brian closed the book and leaned across to get a better view out of the front window.

Andy and Bender were at the roadside, shouting at each other furiously, whilst Allison was sat on the bonnet, looking a little nonplussed.

"What's going on?" he asked Claire, who was still beside him with a look on her face that appeared to be a mixture of despair and boredom.

She sighed. "We broke down."

He frowned. "Why?"

"No gas, that's why. Because neither of those ass holes bothered to check it!" she explained, raising her voice slightly so that the boys would hear her.

They didn't. The insults were flying about thick and fast, but as far as Brian could see, the situation wasn't getting resolved.

Undoing his seat-belt, Brian clambered out of the car and joined the others upfront.

"Uh, fellas? You know, I don't really think name-calling is getting us anywhere," he began, trying to take the folded up road map from Bender.

"Keep out of it Dweebie," Bender warned, snatching the map away and shoving it into his back pocket, before turning his attention back to the argument with Andrew.

Brian looked to Allison for help, but was sorely disappointed, as she rested her head on her hands and watched him blankly.

"Guys, passing the blame isn't going to get us any gas," Brian tried again.

"Well if _Andrew _would just admit he was wrong, we could all move on," Bender stated.

"Me?! What about you, you moron? You were driving! How am I supposed to see the gas gauge from the back seat?" the sport argued.

"It's your cousin's car. You should've made sure it wasn't gonna break!"

"It's not broken, ass wipe. It's just outta gas," Andy corrected him.

"Yeah? And we're outta _luck_, because in case you haven't noticed Sporto, we're in the middle of freakin' no where!" Bender cried, so riled up that he didn't notice when Allison slipped off the bonnet of the car and took the map straight from his back pocket. As the two boys continued to bicker, she opened it and examined it for a moment under the watchful eye of Brian, who was looking increasingly nervous as to what she was going to do next.

Once she had cast an eye across the map, Allison started off up the road, away from the car and her friends.

"Guys," Brian muttered, nudging Andy.

"What Brian?" he sighed, impatiently.

"We have a little uh... situation going on here," he stuttered, gesturing to Allison. "Namely your girlfriend, going that-a-way."

"Yo, Klepto! The car's over here, crazy!" Bender called.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling her that?!" Andrew cried, giving Bender a shove before he jogged after Allison. "Ally! Slow down! Where are you going?"

Allison turned to face them but continued moving, this time walking backwards.

"What are you doing?" he pressed.

"There's a gas station about 4 miles from here," she informed him.

"How do you know that?" Bender asked.

Without a word, Allison waved the map at him, and then continued up the road.

Andy sighed, glancing back at the others. "You guys stay here."

"Hey!" Bender called, as the sport followed his girlfriend. "How come you guys get to go?! We didn't even vote on it! AUTOCRACY!"

"Just stay with the car!" Andrew called back over his shoulder. "Try not to kill each other!"

"I'll try Sporto!" Bender shouted, dramatically, as the two of them disappeared round the bend.

After a moment's silence, Bender turned back to look at Brian.

"I'll try," he said again, more sincerely this time.

Brian laughed nervously.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Andy wasn't sure how long they had been walking for, but he was starting to get a stitch in his left side from trying to keep up with Allison.

Eventually, when they reached the top of a fairly steep slope in the road, he stopped, leaning forward and resting his hands on his knees.

"Jesus Ally, can we slow down? I thought _I _was the sport?" he breathed.

She stopped, watching him silently.

"What're you in such a hurry for?" Andrew asked. "Or is it just that you don't wanna walk with me?"

Allison frowned, but she still didn't provide him with a response.

He sighed, standing up straight. "What did I do? Are you mad with me? I know this trip hasn't exactly been... fun so far. I know it's not really going to plan. But things will get better, you know?"

"Maybe I just wanted to get to the gas station and back before it gets dark," Allison told him in a monotone, before continuing along the road.

Huffing, Andy jogged after her again, taking hold of her arm. "I don't buy that, Ally. Stop. Just stop. Come on."

She came to a stop again, this time keeping her eyes trained on the ground in front of her.

"You know, sometimes I really wish I knew what was going on your head," he told her gently. "Or that you would just tell me."

"I just... Maybe Claire was right," Allison said, eventually.

"About what?"

"This whole thing being a really bad idea..." she muttered.

Andy shook his head. "It's not a bad idea, Allison. It's just been a little harder than we thought."

"A little? It's been a complete disaster so far. It's just been one thing after another. And what if..." she began, before trailing off.

"What if what?"

"What if the whole things a disaster? What if we get to LA and we can't find her or... she doesn't want to know... and we all end up hating each other because of some stupid car ride? It'd be my fault," she said, the words coming out a little faster than they probably should have.

Silence.

She glanced at him, nodding her head as if to indicate she'd finished.

"What if we _do _find her? What if she's really glad to see you? What if Bender and I become BFFs? Ally, they're all 'what ifs'," Andy told her, standing in front of her and taking her head in his hands. "What if I hadn't gotten Saturday detention? I'd probably be on my way to UIC now with a full scholarship, facing another three years wrestling when my hearts not even in it anymore."

"You wouldn't be spending your summer in a funeral car getting arrested and into dumb fights on buses, though," Allison pointed out.

"But I wouldn't be with you," he said, sincerely. "And... I _like _being with you, Allison."

She glanced up at him, and the corner of her lip threatened to turn up. "Me too."

"What was that?" he teased, leaning in closer. "Didn't quite catch that. Can we do that again, but with more feeling?"

Allison dug him, unable to stop herself from smiling now. "I said me too."

"Awwh, I never knew you felt that way," Andrew laughed, catching hold of her and pulling her closer. Allison wrapped her arms around his neck, and he stroked her hair back, his face becoming serious again "No more 'what ifs', okay? It's gonna be fine."

She nodded, feeling his lips against her forehead and leaning in to the touch.

"You're right about one thing though," he said, after a short pause.

"What?" she mumbled.

"We _do_ need to get that gas before dark," Andrew grinned.

She smiled too, raising an eyebrow. "I'm_ always _right, Sporto."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, that must be why I love you," he concluded, before turning and starting to walk again.

Allison stared after him for a moment, completely and utterly stunned. Had Andrew Clark just used the L word? To her?

Realizing she hadn't followed, he turned around again.

"What's your problem?" he laughed, seeing her mouth hanging open. "Are you coming or what?"

Pulling herself together, Allison went after him, walking far slower than she had before.

"This is a better pace," Andrew decided, putting one arm around her. "I can breathe again."

Biting back a smile, she leaned in closer, resting her head on his shoulder.

Andrew Clark had definitely just used the L word, and Allison Reynolds was beginning to think that the feeling might definitely be mutual.


	10. Chapter 10

After Allison and Andrew had disappeared off on their adventure, an uncomfortable silence followed, in which Bender lit a cigarette and Brian looked very worried (almost as worried as he had looked when Bender had told Vernon where his dope was stashed).

It was Claire who broke the silence, opening the door and putting her head out.

"Where are they going?"

"Gas station," Bender replied, without so much as looking at her.

"Great. No one asked me if I wanted to go," she muttered, disappearing back into the car and shutting the door with a thud.

Bender mimicked her words before blowing a smoke ring.

"You know, you guys should really stop fighting all the time," Brian informed him.

The other boy didn't respond, but the look he gave Brian was enough to tell him his advice wasn't welcome.

"I'm just saying," Brian continued, raising his hands in defence. "I mean, it's awkward for the rest of us, you know? That's all..."

Glancing back toward the car, Bender sighed and gestured toward the woodland running along side the road.

"What?" Brian asked, blankly.

"Get outta here for a bit."

"Wh... where do you want me to go?" the geek stammered, reluctantly.

"I don't know, Dweeb. Just take a walk. A long one," he ordered.

For a moment, the smaller boy didn't move.

Rolling his eyes, Bender took his walk-man from his jacket pocket and pushed it into his hand. "There. Now you can listen to your opera music too."

"I _could, _except you threw it out of the car in Shermer, remember?" Brian smiled awkwardly.

Bender didn't smile back, instead staring him out. "I guess you're listening to Metallica then, huh?"

Knowing when to quit, Brian took the walk-man and made himself scarce.

Striding back over to the car, Bender opened the door and looked down at Claire's sulky face.

"Get out."

"Why?" she demanded.

"I thought we could walk the rest of the way to LA," he replied, sarcastically. "I wanna talk, you airhead."

"Wow. John Bender wants to _talk_. Wonders really never do cease," Claire pulled a face- but she got out of the car. "Where did Brian go?"

"To be one with nature," he informed her, sitting on the car bonnet and stretching out.

"I don't know why you always have to be so mean to him, John. You make him nervous at the best of times," she sighed.

"Please. He knows it's a joke," Bender snorted.

"Maybe that's the problem. Everything is a joke to you."

"Well I'm a funny guy."

Claire shot him a doubtful glance. "What did you want to talk about anyway?"

He shrugged. "It was the dork's idea. Reckons we're making the others awkward with our rows."

"I wonder why that is?" she commented, folding her arms.

"Why what is?"

"Why we always row so damn much, John," she sighed.

"Because of your 24 hour, 7 days a week PMT?" he suggested.

Claire stared at him in disbelief, and Bender snorted, amused by his own words.

"Relax, Cherry. Jeez. I was kidding. We row because... well, couples row," he decided, offering her a cigarette.

She shook her head. "That's not why. I'll tell you why."

"Oh, this should be good," he nodded, propping himself up with his elbow and watching her.

"We row because you can't take anything seriously, and you never talk about anything. You just insult everybody and act like a moron when things don't go your way," Claire told him.

"I knew it'd be all my fault, Princess. You're not so squeaky clean yourself, you know?" he told her.

"I know I'm not perfect. But at least I don't bury my head in the sand and take my problems out on everybody else," the redhead snapped, feeling irate again. It was amazing how easy it was to get worked up around him.

"At least _I _don't act like a spoiled brat and go running to Daddy every time something goes tits up," Bender shot back. "Maybe we should just face it. We're too freakin' different."

"Andy and Allison are different. They don't row like us," she pointed out.

"That's because he doesn't have the balls and she's in la-la land half of the time. Tends to make for an easy ride."

"You're doing it again, John. Shitting all over other people because you can't face your own problems and what's wrong with _you_. Perhaps they get on so well because Andrew treats her with respect. He's nice to her. He takes care of her," Claire pointed out.

"Or perhaps it's because she isn't in his ear constantly, telling him what he should or shouldn't do, acting like his mom?" he suggested. "If you want someone to hold your hand and tell you how pretty you look, then go find yourself a guy like Andy. I'm not him."

"That's not what I want," she sighed.

Bender studied her a moment. "No. It's not, is it? You'd be bored outta your head, Cherry. Admit it, you love being with me, almost as much as you love that your parents hate it."

"Well... I wish I could figure you out," she replied, avoiding responding to his remark. "I don't understand you sometimes."

"I don't understand algebra. Don't bother trying. Life's like that," he shrugged, putting his cigarette out and sitting up straight.

There was a pause for a moment then, before Claire spoke again.

"Did you really mean what you said the other day? In the parking lot?"

He scoffed. "Which bit? Would that be A: the part where I called you a shitty friend, or B: the part where I called you a spoiled child?"

Claire chose to rise above it and play Bender at his own game. "C: the part where you said you didn't wanna lose me."

Bender thought about it for a moment. "I'll go with D: all of the above."

"See? Once again, you can't be serious, John. Not even for a minute," she said, frustrated.

He sighed, losing patience. "What do you want from me, Claire?"

"I _want _you to admit that you're upset I'm going to Florida. Just say it, instead of acting like an idiot."

"Don't flatter yourself," Bender retorted. "Don't let me or the rest of your friends stop you from going off to Miami to be with all the other preps. A leopard doesn't change its spots, after all."

"Is that what you think? You think I'm going to get away from you and be somebody I'm not?" she frowned.

"No. I think you're going to get away from me and be somebody you _are_," came his response.

Claire shook her head furiously, blinking back tears.

"And hey, why not Cherry? At least then we could break this boring cycle. We row, you cry, I'm an ass hole, repeat as necessary..."

"That's _not _why I'm going. Didn't it get to you, even just a bit? What Allison said that day in detention? When you grow up, your heart dies.'What if she's right, John? Do you think I want to be stuck in Shermer for the rest of my life, repeating the same mistakes my parents made? A bored housewife with a couple of kids and a busy husband who's never home? Like I said that day, I don't want to be like my parents. I want something more," Claire told him.

"As opposed to Shermer-for-life bums like me?" he asked.

"That's not what I said. I don't see what I've done that's so wrong. I've always dreamed of getting in to Florida State. Just like Brian worked for Harvard, and Allison going to art school. Even Andy, he's doing what _he _wants, not what his dad wants. There's nothing wrong with having goals. If you l... If you cared about me, you'd be happy for me," she said. "I'm not going to apologize for living my life."

It felt good. For the first time in a long time, she had said exactly what she wanted to say to him, without screaming or shouting. She _meant _it, and the silence told her that he knew it too.

Reaching across, Claire moved his hair back and gently fingered the diamond stud in his left ear.

"It's about what I want. Not what I don't want."

Considering her for a moment, he smirked. "Is this the part where we fall into each others arms and sing Bonnie Tyler songs to each other?"

Claire dug him in the ribs, but he could see the smile threatening her lips. "Is that your an attempt at an apology?"

"If that's what you want to call it," he nodded, feigning worry. "Are you going to accept it? Please don't keep me in suspense."

"I suppose so. It's only natural you're going to miss me, after all."

Bender snorted. "Yeah, like a hole in the head."

Silence.

And then Claire gave him a shove, just hard enough to knock him off balance. Falling from the car bonnet, he landed on the floor with a grunt and turned to look at her, in disbelief. Claire tried to keep it together, but the look of shock on his face was too much, and she began to laugh.

"I'm gonna give you that one, Standish. But _that _s why I'm not gonna miss you," he told her.

"Please. You will. And I'll miss all of you guys, too. But there's always summer break and Christmas, too. And hey," she began, becoming serious again. "Maybe if you keep your head down this time and repeat senior year again, you could come out to Florida once you graduate from high school."

Bender glanced at her, but Claire's eyes were trained on the floor, as she awaited his reaction with nervous anticipation. There was another pause before he spoke.

"Cherry?"

Cautiously, she lifted her head to look at him, wondering whether he was going to laugh at her or rebuff her with an array of colorful language.

Still sitting on the floor, Bender flipped his hair back from his eyes to meet her gaze.

"Who said I'm going back to high school?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It was getting dark by the time Allison and Andy returned to the car.

"Finally," Bender began clapping, getting out from the driver's seat and leaning against the side of the car. "What the hell took you so long?"

"We were getting gas," Allison told him.

"Yes, thank you Klepto. I had worked that out."

"And provisions," Andy told them, holding up a bag full of junk food.

"Oh, good. Do you have any Evian in there?" Claire asked.

Andy checked the bag. "Nope. Just soda. Sorry."

"Never mind the Andrew Clark range of cold beverages. Let's get this in the car and get moving," Bender decided, taking the gas cannister. "Sporto, give me a hand."

Whilst the two boys argued like a married couple over how to get the fuel cap off, Allison and Claire got back into the car.

"Did you guys talk?" Allison asked her.

"Yeah, we talked," she nodded. "Or at least I talked, and John grunted like a caveman, but it's a start."

She smiled. "I'm glad."

"Me too. And Allison, I'm sorry. I know this trip probably hasn't been a barrel of laughs so far for you guys, putting up with me and him arguing all the time. But I've not forgotten why we're here. I know this is a big deal for you- looking for your mom. We'll try not to make it any harder than it already is," Claire told her. "Let's just try to have fun, and hope nothing else goes wrong."

Once the car was filled up, they set off again, and the next part of the journey was filled up with a Siouxsie and the Banshees cassette tape and a debate as to whether or not Richard Vernon's wife looked like Boy George. This debate got so heated that it was a good twenty minutes or so before Claire interrupted it.

"Oh my god. Oh my god!" she cried suddenly.

Presuming that she had seen something on the road that he hadn't, Bender slammed the brakes on, sending the soda that Andy was drinking flying from his hand and all over the dashboard. Wiping it from the window, he and Andy both looked out, but the road ahead was clear.

"What the hell, Cherry?! You wanna get us killed?" Bender cried, shaking the soda from his hands.

"Oh, well I'm sorry. But haven't you guys noticed anything missing?" she demanded.

The two boys stared at her blankly.

Claire sighed, impatiently. "Wasn't there five of us earlier?"

As it dawned on them, Bender, Andy and Allison all turned around to look at the back row of seats.

Sure enough, they were empty- which lead to only one question.

"Where the hell is Brian?!"


End file.
